The present disclosure addresses three distinct transportation related problems. The three problems concern, high speed rail, the interstate highway system, and heavy freight hauling. Traditional high speed rail, also sometimes referred to as bullet trains, are well known in the art. Most high speed trains travel on standard gauge rail road beds and are limited to transporting passengers. Current high speed rail systems have serious limitations. Passengers can only get on and off at randomly located stations. The current high speed rail vehicle is a train composed of a heavy locomotive with some variable number of passenger cars. The train is inefficient because it requires the same personnel and same amount of energy to complete a scheduled trip whether it has one passenger or 500 passengers. High speed rail trains also suffer from limited flexibility, as the train can only travel where the rails go. Often the rail infrastructure is constructed through interstate highway medians, thereby making stations harder to access and requiring major highway and overpass construction. High speed locomotives may be powered by diesel fuel or by electricity. If powered by electricity, the electricity is provided by a continuous overhead power grid or a continuous electric feed in the rail bed structure. This is an expensive and inefficient way to deliver electric energy to the locomotives.
High speed rail trains also have little to differentiate between each other. They compete on speed. One manufacturer will claim 186 MPH, another will claim 250 MPH, and another may achieve 300 MPH for a few seconds under ideal conditions on a special straightaway. They can then claim that their train can travel 300 MPH. But such speeds are less relevant if the train has a station stop every few miles. Numerous stops may mean that a train rarely reaches 100 MPH and may average just 60 MPH. Yet, there are also drawbacks to having fewer stops between large cities. Fewer stops means that the trains can then reach higher speeds. However, with limited station stops, the trains will now receive revenue from fewer passengers.
Higher speed means increased aerodynamic resistance, less efficiency, more noise, more hazards, and ultimately higher costs. Furthermore, the cost of constructing these high speed rail systems (which may include track infrastructure, stations, locomotives and passenger cars) is very high. The primary purpose of any high speed rail system is to divert automotive traffic off of the overcrowded highways and to provide faster travel between major cities. High speed rail systems often fail because it is typically difficult for commuters to get to the stations, find a place to park, and travel on the trains' schedule. High speed rail systems also often leave commuters stranded at remote stations. As a result of the lack of popularity, high speed trains always require heavy government subsidies to make up for revenue shortfalls.
Current high speed rail is a successor to railroad passenger service that was provided from the earliest days of railroad and train services in the early 1800's up through the present AMTRAK passenger service. There is no technical difference between then and now other than alleged service improvement premised on projected speed. There is no direct correlation between present high speed rail and interstate highway travel. There is no physical interrelationship between present high speed rail and interstate highway traffic even when they share a common right-of-way. There is no interaction, impact, or involvement of heavy freight vehicles traveling on interstate highways with present high speed rail. Current high speed rail carries passengers exclusively. Hauling freight is left to the traditional freight rail carriers typically operating on separate road beds, so this means present High speed rail involves the construction of additional and dedicated infrastructure. High speed rail infrastructure does not add capacity to existing interstate highways. The infrastructure is dedicated to the exclusive use of high speed rail passenger trains and have no other usage or productive purpose.
A second problem addressed by the present disclosure concerns the interstate highway system. Interstate highways have become increasingly crowded and sometimes overcrowded. Often times traffic becomes so heavy it comes to a standstill. It is an irony that a multi-lane road with no stop signs and no traffic signals experience reduced capacity as its traffic load increases and eventually, as traffic reaches a maximum, the capacity of the roadway becomes zero, traffic simply stops moving. Interstate highways need more lanes, but more lanes means they must increase right-of-way, rebuild overpasses, move existing lanes, and reconstruct drainage structures. It is almost like building the entire interstate from scratch just to add one or two traffic lanes.
A third problem addressed by the present disclosure relates to heavy freight hauling that is now done by diesel tractor trailers. These tractor trailers pull most of their long haul loads on interstate highways. A concern is that some 20% of total automotive pollution comes from tractor trailers. Convert all cars, SUV's, vans, and pick-up trucks to electric and 20% of the pollution will remain. A disproportionate share of highway accidents involve tractor trailers. Yet another problem is that heavy loaded tractor trailers are estimated to cause 90% of the damage requiring road maintenance repairs.
Tractor trailer operators have many other problems to deal with. Long distance freight haulers are competing with rail freight, and regulations allow operators to drive only so many miles or hours a day before they must sleep, make fuel stops, or restroom stops. Operators must also schedule loads and deliveries. Speed limits and traffic congestion create further delays. The cost of diesel fuel is also increasing just as the costs of gasoline and other fuels.
The transitional mode high speed rail system of the present disclosure seeks to overcome aforementioned problems associated with traditional high speed rail, our current interstate highway system, and heavy freight hauling. The invention detailed in the present disclosure is aimed at overcoming these and other problems present in the background art.